Gridiron Heroes: Keeping Hope Alive
Kimberly Oakman
Gridiron Heroes: Keeping Hope Alive
Posted September 2, 2008
By Kimberly Oakman
Imagine yourself lining up behind the quarterback in a fourth-down, goal line, now-or-never football scenario. The brutes on the offensive line surge as the center snaps the ball. You accelerate as the quarterback coordinates your hand off. The Buick-sized guard in front of you has cleared a hole the size of the Texas panhandle, so you lower your shoulders and hit stride. You can smell the goal line - and the victory. Then BAM! You body jolts as it absorbs the blind-side punishment administered by an unchecked safety. Unfortunately, that’s the last thing you’ll ever feel.
This dream just turned into a nightmare.
Though hard hits are an assumed – and applauded – part of the game, the human body can only take so much. For many athletes, fantasies of reaching the end zone are replaced by illusions of walking again.
Accepting the reality of injury is a difficult pill to swallow in any sport, and football is no exception. But one San Antonio organization, called the Gridiron Heroes, is out to draw attention to the increasing number of spinal cord and paralyzing injuries many athletes endure.
“The support level for athletes at the high school level that experience spinal cord injuries is not where it should be,” Gridiron Heroes director and founder Eddie Canales says. “It's not just about providing care for the injured athletes, but it's also about providing support for the families of these players.”
When the Gridiron Heroes first originated in 2003, its message and goals were not widely accepted by the football community. Injuries, paralysis and deaths aren’t issues coaches and fans generally want to talk about. But this organization isn’t out to deter anyone from donning shoulder pads, instead it wants players and families to realize the impact a spinal cord injury can cause.
Here’s a common phrase the Gridiron Heroes organization commonly hears: "You are the reason I don’t want my child to play football."
“When I hear something like that, it makes me realize that parents and coaches do not want to face the reality,” Canales says. “This injury can happen and it will happen if we do not educate the public on prevention, the risks involved and what this injury can do to a family.”
Gridiron Heroes has three main goals: education, long-term assistance and funding. Spinal cord injuries are very expensive. The average family will likely spend between $150,000 and $500,000 per year in medical expenses alone.
“All we are trying to do is make it easier for the families and provide as much support as we can,” Canales says.
During the Gridiron Heroes’ first year of activism, three high school football players went down with spinal cord injuries. Three more suffered similar injuries in 2004. Coming to each of those players’s rescue has been a financial struggle. “We are definitely not going to turn a player down when they need help,” Canales says. “It’s difficult to do that when we have limited funds.
That's why we need to get the word out about the organization and get everyone in the football community involved."
The Gridiron Heroes’ message and mission is finally starting to gain statewide and national attention. This year the organization is working with the American Football Coaches Association to bring awareness to spinal cord injuries and also to distribute educational resources to the football community. “Coaches and parents from around the nation are starting to call us asking for financial assistance for their players; or parents of athletes (call) who just need to talk. Providing that assistance to those that need it most is what keeps this organization going."
With a new Texas high school football season right around the corner, it’s a prime
opportunity for the Gridiron Heroes to raise spinal-cord-injury awareness amongst coaches and athletes. In a state where high school football is a way of life, Gridiron Heroes wants to provide support just as strong as the game itself.
